AP Psychology EBQ Application Top 25 High-Yield Terms

A collection of high-yield AP Psychology terms and definitions focused on Biological Bases, Cognition, Development, Social Psychology, and Mental Health for EBQ application.

What is the function of the Prefrontal cortex in behavior?

Brain area for decision-making and attention

What is the role of the Hippocampus?

Forms new memories

How is Arousal defined?

Level of physiological activation

What is the definition of Stress?

Response to perceived demands

What is Neuroplasticity?

Brain’s ability to change

What is the definition of Attention?

Focused awareness

What is Selective attention?

Focusing on one stimulus

What does Working memory involve?

Holding and manipulating information

What is Encoding?

Processing information into memory

What is Retrieval?

Accessing stored memories

What is a Schema?

Mental framework

What is a Heuristic?

Mental shortcut

What is Metacognition?

Thinking about thinking

What is Cognitive offloading?

Using tools to reduce mental effort

What is Motivation?

Processes that direct behavior

What is Intrinsic motivation?

Internal desire to succeed

What is Extrinsic motivation?

Motivation from external rewards

What is Conformity?

Adjusting behavior to a group

What is Normative social influence?

Conforming for approval

What is Social facilitation?

Better performance around others

What is Self-efficacy?

Belief in ability

What is Locus of control?

Beliefs about control

What does the Yerkes- Dodson law state?

Optimal arousal improves performance

What is Resilience?

Ability to recover from stress

What are the four items on the EBQ Application Checklist?

1. Underline the psychology term; 2. Define it briefly; 3. Clearly connect it to the evidence; 4. Do NOT restate the evidence verbatim.